Tereu Tereu's Adam Bray (left) and Ryan Little help get the crowd primed for Birdmonster with bass-heavy beats and dance tunes. View More Images from this story View and ORDER more photos.

Birdmonster and local bands make FAA 2 a special event

By Kurt Vinnedge

Date published: 10/9/2008

youth correspondent

Fredericksburg All Ages is all grown up, reaching the age of 2 this past Friday with a throwback performance at Wounded Bookshop.

So important was the second anniversary show that it was filmed and is being made into a documentary right now.

Stafford High School indie rockers ¡Carlos, I'm Pregnant! opened up the show with a completely new sound, and the addition of guitarist Chris Carr. A little bit more mature, and a little bit more natural sounding, Carlos seems to have finally found its niche in guitar-laden "experimental" music. The band really set the mood for the show--fun and fast-paced.

Next up was Tereu Tereu, known for great dancing music, intense bass beats and fun lyrics. Tereu Tereu really played on the hype, catering to a cheering and dancing crowd. The band had a lot of audience interaction. There was clapping after the horn solos and stomping to the beat of the songs. They really brought the noise, and hyped up the crowd even more for what everyone was waiting for--California's Birdmonster.

I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again: There is nothing to compare with Birdmonster live.

The anticipation of the crowd was palpable, and most even stayed inside to watch the band set up on the stage. Before the band was even fully ready to play, the crowd was cheering.

They opened up their set with "Resurrection Song" from their EP, and the high-energy tune instantly swept the crowd into a dancing frenzy.

That was how the rest of the show was--an extremely amped-up, stomping, clapping, dancing crowd that couldn't get enough of Birdmonster. The audience clapped, screamed and even sang along as Birdmonster played.

Birdmonster couldn't have put on a better show except for some technical difficulties at the beginning. Their music couldn't have been better.

When the band finished playing its set, the crowd started to cheer in unison for an encore. After about 30 seconds of shouting, Birdmonster made it back to the stage, and played three more songs including "Ice Age" from their previous album, as well as "No Midnight" and "Greenland Sound" from their newest album, "From the Mountain to the Sea." Birdmonster has too much energy to be captured in the studio, however, and hearing them live is always enthralling.

After Birdmonster left the stage for the second time, the show was over, and FAA was officially 2 years old. Good job, Fredericksburg.

Kurt Vinnedge is a junior at Stafford High School.

Date published: 10/9/2008